“Da-da-da-da—”
In the long underground corridor, the Straw Hat Pirates were moving rapidly towards the underground treasure house. Vivi and Brook were riding on Chopper's back and were led by Chopper to move quickly.
Not long ago, Brook used the power of the Yomiuri Fruit to find the location of the underground treasure house. The Yomiuri Fruit has been developed to such an extent that his soul can leave his body and travel freely underground. The complex corridor design of the New Navy has no way to stop his soul.
However, although the Straw Hat Pirates and others knew the location of the treasure, it was not easy for them to reach it quickly.
Brook's soul can indeed travel freely without paying attention to walls, but Luffy and his companions cannot do that. They must find the exact path to reach the underground treasure house.
However, compared with the previous situation where they were rushing around like headless flies in the underground fortifications of the New Navy, the Straw Hat Pirates and others now at least have a clear direction and goal.
Luffy and the others also knew that their time was very tight. They had to copy the historical text of the red road sign before the strong men of the new navy could react, and then quickly leave Cake Island.
The domineering aura released by the battle between Dragon and Mihawk was extremely terrifying, and the range of its coverage and influence was also very wide. Even underground, Luffy and others could feel it clearly.
Luffy knew that his father was buying time for him. Although Luffy had only known Dragon for a short time, the connection engraved in their blood was indelible. After only a few days of getting along, Luffy and Dragon had already established a deep relationship.
Luffy is well aware of the strength of the new navy. In order to prevent his father from getting into trouble, he doesn't want to waste time. Therefore, along the way, Luffy is very decisive in taking action against the navy who dares to block him.
Since he broke into the new naval base until now, no one knows how many naval teams have been defeated by them.
Although Luffy showed no mercy, he did not go to extremes either. After all, the Straw Hat Pirates were not truly vicious pirates. At most, they beat the New Navy who tried to stop them and left them without any strength to fight again, and then hurried away without paying any more attention to them.
But correspondingly, the relatively soft tactics of Luffy and others also enabled some new navy members to report the location of Luffy and others to their superiors after failing to intercept them.
The location of the Straw Hat Pirates and others is almost obvious to the New Navy, which gives the New Navy enough time and energy to mobilize strong men to stop them.
"Luffy, there's someone!"
After passing through the archive room, the Straw Hat Pirates entered a relatively spacious underground square. They were now in one of the passages connecting to the square, and opposite the square, there were three more passages connecting to the square.
One of the passages leading to the underground treasure house is also connected to this square.
However, as soon as Straw Hat Luffy and the others walked out of the passage, they noticed that a group of navy had gathered in the square. When they came out, they all looked at the Straw Hat Pirates with eager eyes.
This team of navy consisted of forty or fifty people, led by a tall "giant". He was wearing a white navy uniform, holding a large Bible in his hands, and wearing a bear-shaped felt hat on his head. He had a serious look on his face, giving people a strong sense of oppression.
Behind the man, the new navy members raised their spears after seeing the Straw Hat Pirates and others appear, and opened fire at Luffy's men without saying a word.
"Bang bang bang bang -"
Intensive gunfire rang out in the underground square. Luffy, who was in the front, reacted quickly. He jumped out from in front of the passage and landed on the square. Then he put his thumb in his mouth and blew hard. His rubber-like body expanded directly, quickly blocking the entrance to the passage and protecting the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates behind him.
The bullets landed on Luffy's body one after another. The huge force stretched Luffy's rubber-like skin. After penetrating for dozens of centimeters, they lost their strength and were then bounced back by Luffy.
Although the firearms of the New Navy are far from comparable to the matchlock guns commonly circulated in this world, the power of these firearms is ultimately not enough to hurt Luffy, who is a person with special abilities.
On the contrary, the bullets bounced back by Luffy's rubber fruit are fatal enough to ordinary navy soldiers.
"spread!"
The New Navy's offensive was blocked and counterattacked. The giant navy leader in the square growled and raised his right hand towards Xiang Qianping nonchalantly.
A shock wave appeared in the square without any warning, directly shooting down all the bullets. Not only that, this terrifying shock wave also poured towards Luffy and others.
Luffy himself did not expect that the opponent would have such a means of attack. At this moment, his inflated body became a huge target of attack.
The shock wave instantly hit Luffy's belly. The terrifying force directly blew out all the air in Luffy's stomach. Luffy himself, like a balloon with its mouth opened, flew backwards and hit the thick wall, creating a huge hole.
"Luffy?!"
"Luffy, are you okay?!"
After just one encounter, Luffy was knocked away by the unknown navy. When Luffy was knocked away, the huge noise attracted the attention of everyone in the Straw Hat Pirates. Seeing Luffy's embarrassed look with his body embedded in the wall, Sanji, Vivi and others exclaimed in surprise, and then looked at the square with vigilance.
“Who are you?!”
Sanji sensed the strength of his enemy and quickly stood in front of his companions, questioning them angrily.
"I am the new Vice Admiral of the Marine Headquarters, Bartholomew Kuma."
"The Straw Hat Pirates, that's it."
The one who appeared in the square to block Straw Hat Luffy and others was not Abel, the fighter named by Yixiao, but Bartholomew Kuma, who has now retreated to the second line and is usually only responsible for the transportation of supplies.
Since having a child, Xiong's focus has returned to his family. He is a person who values family. For people like him, family is far more important than work.
Xiong's retreat to the second line has a certain impact on the combat effectiveness of the new navy, but Jigoku Yuichiro also unconditionally supports his partner's decision. Everyone's pursuits are different. For some people, ideals are more important than family affection, but for some people, family affection is above everything else.
Although Xiong has retreated to the second line, he has not left the ranks of the New Navy. Xiong is very clear about how much benefit his abilities can bring to the New Navy. Even if he works from nine to five like an ordinary office worker, the help he can provide to the New Navy is unmatched by ordinary people.
Moreover, Kuma has a strong sense of belonging to the New Navy, and he has always been grateful to Yoriichi Tsugakuin for helping him rescue Ginny.
Now that he heard from Yixiao that there were invaders at the new naval base, he naturally wanted to come and help.
Mihawk was held back by a super strong man, and Yixiao not only needed to coordinate the overall situation to deal with the natural disaster and tsunami, but also needed to help Mihawk to scout the enemy. He would never move unless it was necessary.
The Straw Hat Pirates were the "big pirates" who had caused a big stir on Fishman Island. The New Navy did not dare to take it lightly. Yixiao felt that since the other party had the confidence to break into Cake Island and attempt to steal the historical text of the Red Road Sign, it would be unsafe to rely on Abel alone to stop them.
After Kuma knocked Straw Hat Luffy away with one blow, he looked at the other people on the Straw Hat Pirates.
From the information Kuma got, he already knew that the Straw Hat Luffy who was just knocked away by him was Dragon's son, but even so, Kuma had no intention of letting Straw Hat Luffy's men run around in the headquarters.
It is true that Xiong had received various favors from Long before, but correspondingly, he and Ginny had also done a lot for the Revolutionary Army. Compared with the favors given by Long, the things he and Ginny did were enough to make up for it.
On the contrary, the favors that Tsugikuni Yoriichi and the New Navy gave to Ginny and Kuma were something Kuma could never repay.
When the World Government was at its peak, Tsugikoku Yoshikazu was willing to attack the Celestial Dragons to rescue Ginny for the sake of Kuma. This kindness was far greater than what the dragon had brought him back then.
What's more, it was the Straw Hat Pirates who broke into the Marine Headquarters, and it was Straw Hat Luffy who took the initiative to provoke the New Navy. From this perspective, the New Navy's arrest of Straw Hat Luffy was merely a countermeasure.
For this reason, Kuma did not feel any guilt when he attacked Straw Hat Luffy and others.
Of course, he would not kill Long's son, but arresting him was what he should do as a vice admiral.
Xiong is not a small figure in the New Navy. His reputation is actually loud enough around the world. He used to be the commander of the Revolutionary Army and is now a vice admiral of the New Navy. Although he has retired to the second line, the reputation he made back then still remains.
When Sanji and the others heard Xiong introduce himself, their expressions changed.
“Crash—”
The soil fell to the ground, Luffy struggled to get out of the pit, and then walked in front of Sanji and others.
"Hey, Luffy, that guy is a vice admiral of the New Navy. He's very dangerous."
"We can't waste time here. This is the home of the New Navy. The longer we delay, the more powerful enemies will appear."
"You take them away first, I'll stop these navy!"
Seeing Luffy trying to fight the enemy, Sanji quickly grabbed Luffy's wrist and said in a deep voice.
After just one encounter, Sanji already felt the enemy's strength. He didn't think that he could easily defeat the man in front of him. The best way now was to divide the troops.
Sanji felt that he was the only one in his team who could take on this task.
Luffy is the captain, and no one knows how many powerful enemies are waiting for them on the road ahead. Luffy cannot be left behind.
"Sanji?"
When Luffy heard Sanji speak, his expression became extremely serious. He looked back at Sanji, and seeing his determined expression, he nodded.
"Okay, I'll take them away first, you hurry up and follow me!"
At this critical moment, Luffy also became extremely decisive. After saying this, he shouted to his companions behind him:
"Let's go!"
As he spoke, Luffy had already taken the lead and rushed towards the passage that Brook pointed to. Some marines wanted to stop them, but they were swept away by Luffy's outstretched arms and were all blown aside with screams.
"I said that's enough!"
Just as Luffy was leading the Straw Hat Pirates and others nearing the entrance, a huge figure appeared beside Luffy without warning, and a pair of huge bear paws slapped Luffy's forehead directly.
Luffy, facing the attack from the oncoming man, didn't even look at him and just kept moving forward. Just when the bear's attack was about to hit Luffy, Sanji suddenly appeared beside Luffy and kicked him directly on the bear's palm.
“Bang!!!”
A muffled sound rang out in the square. The powerful domineering auras of Kuma and Sanji collided with each other, and a hurricane swept around in this relatively closed space.
While Sanji was trying to resist the bear, Luffy and the others hurried away and disappeared from the bear's sight.
“.”
Seeing Luffy and the others leave, Kuma did not show any intention of continuing to chase them. Instead, he set his sights on Sanji, and slightly curled the corners of his mouth, revealing a faint smile.
Sanji's obstruction was actually exactly what Kuma wanted. To be honest, he was somewhat conflicted in his heart when facing Straw Hat Luffy and the others.
Although it is reasonable for him to leave Luffy and the others here to repay the trust and kindness that Yoriichi Tsugakuni has shown him, Luffy is Dragon's son after all. If he really leaves all the Straw Hat Pirates here, he will seem a bit "heartless and ungrateful" after all.
The appearance of Sanji also helped Kuma escape from this predicament, and it was also a disguised way for Kuma to step down.
And fortunately, in this brief fight just now, Kuma also felt Sanji's powerful strength, and he could explain away the short-term resistance from the blond young man in front of him.
Of course, what is more important is that by the time he has dealt with the blond young man in front of him, Straw Hat Luffy and his men should have successfully reached the treasury. There is a high probability that they will be easily captured by the people guarding there!
As Xiong thought so in his heart, his mood improved a little. Then his figure flashed and he suddenly appeared behind Sanji, slapping Sanji on the back with his palm.
“?!”
"when!"
The whistling strong wind behind him made Sanji's hair stand on end. He had no idea how the other party moved behind him.
But at this moment he had no time to think. His body reacted before his brain. He rolled forward and then kicked the ground with his feet to quickly leave the spot, avoiding the bear's sudden palm.
When Xiong saw that Sanji had actually dodged his attack, he was not angry but happy. Now, he had even more reason to stay here and focus on dealing with this powerful young man in front of him.
"Thank you so much!"
"In return, I'll treat you to tea."
(End of this chapter)
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